Laurel High School shines at Mock Trial Competition

It all started with a phone call. Jeff Evans, retired from teaching at Cape Henlopen High School, contacted Laurel School District Superintendent Dr. Shawn Larrimore with a question. Evans, who had previously participated in annual mock trial competitions with his students, wanted to know: “Why aren’t your students doing this?”

High School mock trial competitions have been held in Wilmington for the last 35 years. Sponsored by the Delaware Law Related Education Center (DELREC), these trials enable high school students to compete against other Delaware high schools in realistic courtroom cases. Mock trials give students a real-life feel for work in the field of law. Additionally, students get experience in public speaking, debate, role-playing, and critical thinking.

Evans’ question did not fall on deaf ears. What followed was the sweet spot where the LHS educators’ passion and commitment to their students’ future and leadership teamwork came together to produce a new and winning club.

Dr. Larrimore emailed Principal Petrina Giles at Laurel High School (LHS).

Could they drum up enough interest to put together a mock trial team?

“I was excited,” said Giles. Here was a hands-on opportunity that students might never have considered. 

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” said Giles. One such experience “can change a kid’s life.”

Principal Giles needed a behind-the-scenes administrator, as well as a teacher to “lead the charge.” Who could research the requirements to start the team? Who would teach the students? 

Giles sought out Assistant Principal Dr. Tiesha Niblett, who works closely with the Social Studies Department at LHS. Niblett started putting together resources for the first ever mock trial team at LHS. Novice teacher Chiara Benato came on board as the teacher advisor to the club. 

They would meet once a week, after school. 

Benato posted flyers all over campus, advertising the new club.

And the students just “showed up,” Principal Giles said: nine students over four grades.

Anna Singh was one of the students to sign up for the club. Singh, a junior, said just last year she had shared with a friend how she longed for an opportunity to debate. “If only we had a debate team,” she had told her friend.

Antione Ross, also a junior, joined the club. “My parents always told me I’d be like a lawyer,” he said. 

DELREC provided everything needed for the extracurricular club, including curriculum, sponsorship for transportation, and accommodations for the actual competition. DELREC also connected LHS with Thomas Stanton, Esq., a Sussex County attorney. He volunteered to be the attorney coach of the team, educating them about law and law protocol. Every week.

And so the work began.

While the actual competition wouldn’t be held until the first week in March 2026, preparation began in the fall of 2025. First, the students had “a mini-course on trial law,” said Benato.

For example, what is the prosecuting attorney and what is his job? What is a defense attorney? How does a witness prepare for the courtroom? What does the judge do; what does the jury do? How do you prepare for a case? How do you dress? Courtroom etiquette? What is an opening statement? What is a closing statement? 

Stanton was patient, said senior team member Fatma Darilmaz. “He answered the same questions 20 times!”

Next, the team had to prepare for the actual competition.

On Oct. 31, DELREC published the specific mock court case that all 28 competing schools would use in March. The case description also included a general profile of each of the “witnesses” that would testify in the case. For example, one of the roles that a team member had to portray was that of a 22 year-old male who loved movies.

Part of Benato’s job was to help the students put together their character roles as specific witnesses.

Each school team would compete in four rounds with four different schools, using the same court case: two rounds on Friday, March 6, and two rounds on Saturday, March 7. For each round, the team needed three witnesses, and three attorneys. Each team had to be prepared to serve either as the defense team or the prosecuting team. They also required a timekeeper for the competition.

Benato and Stanton assigned the roles that each student would perform: Ross would be a prosecuting and defense attorney; Darilmaz would be a defense and prosecution witness; Shelley Perez-Rubio would be a defense attorney and prosecution witness; Anna Singh would be a prosecuting attorney; Jonathan Ramirez-Perez would be a prosecuting attorney; Elizabeth Quinn would be a defense attorney; Zayden West would be a witness for the defense; Layla Gainer would be witness for both the prosecution and defense. Gavin Mariner would be timekeeper. 

As the event drew closer, the LHS team, dubbed the Paws and Order Mock Trial Team by Benato, started meeting twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

On Friday, March 6, Benato loaded up her team at 6 a.m. and headed to the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington for the competition. The first mock trial began at 9:30 a.m. 

Competition judging for the event is done by three volunteer judges per mock trial. The judges score each student on 30 different aspects. Student scores are combined for each team. The team with the highest score wins the round.

Laurel High School won their first ever mock trial round.   

The team competed again at 1:30 p.m., using their lunch hour to study and prepare, noted Benato, when many other teams did not.

They were back at it Saturday, with many parents and friends observing from the gallery. DELREC provided all meals.

“It was a wonderful learning experience,” said Benato. LHS “held their own.”

“In my 28 year career here in Laurel,” said Niblett, “attending the mock trial and watching the students compete is one of the highlights. I could not have been more proud.”

“It was fun,” said both Ross and Darilmaz.

“I didn’t realize how assertive lawyers technically must be,” said Singh. Singh, who said she sometimes needs to be more assertive, commented that assertiveness and professionalism can go together to get a point across properly. However, she and others noted that students of opposing teams were sometimes mean, and attacking witnesses “is going to make you look like a jerk.” 

Perez-Rubio said she learned at the trials the importance of listening to other people’s points of view, but to “not be afraid to have your voice be heard,” and hold your point of view. She said she realized it was important to express her thoughts, even if they were wrong. She also noted how important it was to be kind, even in the face of a trial.

They won awards. 

The Gavel Award was presented in each round, by the presiding judge, to the student who performed as Best Attorney, and the student who performed as Best Witness.

Layla Gainer was awarded the Gavel Award twice as Best Witness. Antoine Ross received it for Best Attorney. Zayden West received a Gavel Award for Best Witness.

Star Awards are a peer award, presented by the opposing team in each round to a witness and attorney for outstanding performance. Singh, Ross, Perez-Rubio, West, and Ganer all received Star Awards.

“Mr. Stanton and I are already discussing and planning for next year,” said Benato. Benato, who teaches 11th grade history, said she already has kids asking about the team for next year.

The impact the club and competition have had on the students is significant. 

“When I grow up, I want to become a lawyer,” said West, the only ninth grader on the team.

“I’m loving law,” said Ross, after the competition. Ross, who performed as both prosecuting attorney and defense attorney, said he liked being the prosecuting attorney best. He said he liked the more stressful rounds, with teams that outmatched them in experience.

LHS offers many extracurricular activities for its students, honoring their vision and mission statement: “To prepare all students for success in the 21st Century.” The creation of the new mock trial team exemplifies this mission. In Benato’s words: “It’s all for the kids.”